music greed

Steamrolling real music cultures

Bas Leenders

25 Jan 2025

When [Spotify] removed real classical, jazz, and ambient artists from popular playlists and replaced them with low-budget stock muzak, it was steamrolling real music cultures, actual traditions within which artists were trying to make a living.

From the Harper’s report Ghosts in the Machine, on how Spotify fills popular playlists with fabricated “ghost" artists (so called Perfect Fit Content, or PFC), to increase their own profits:

They are effectively working to grow the percentage of total streams of music that is cheaper for the platform.

Your brain breaks a little

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So powerful and widely available now that it's a commodity

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Are you conscious?

The lines between conscious and "unconscious" entities can get blurry when the interaction feels as natural as this. ChatGPT, conversing with Richard Dawkins, questioning if it’s conscious (via Mathew Ingram)

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Your brain breaks a little

Hoovering up all available government-controlled data

So powerful and widely available now that it's a commodity

Are you conscious?